Patients with takotsubo syndrome prescribed beta blockers have significantly higher rates of long-term survival than those overlooked for such treatment, real-world data show.

This beneficial effect is particularly pronounced in those with hypertension or who develop cardiogenic shock in the acute phase of the syndrome, Italian researchers say.

Overall, their results suggest that the risk of all-cause death was 44% lower in the patients who received beta blockers following diagnosis compared to those who did not.

“Although needing confirmation by randomised clinical studies, these findings could have important implications for the decision on pharmacological therapy in patients with [takotsubo syndrome] at discharge,” they wrote in Heart.